They spent the next month in Yorkshire living every young football fan's dream - shopping for merchandise, playing with kids in a local park and catching a few games.

Sixteen years on, they have returned to Australia as multi-millionaires.

And Harry Kewell and Brett Emerton remember their teenage fantasy trip like it was yesterday.

"I remember everything," Kewell says.

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"Our parents were at the airport and for parents to say goodbye to their 15-year-olds was not easy. The trip was so funny, turning up to Heathrow, looking at each other and going, 'What do we do now'? Then we got to Kings Cross station and asked, 'Where do we go now'? Then we got to Leeds and thought, 'What now?'. It was such an adventure.

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"And we couldn't get off the plane because we were minors, so we're waiting for the attendants to come and get us in Bangkok while we watched them clean around us and we were just sitting there laughing. It was hilarious.

"There was just the one big screen so everyone had to watch the same movie, then there was the big tape recorder with our headphones on. It was a massive memory for us."

Overseas trials are undertaken by thousands of young Aussies, but only dozens succeed - which doesn't mean merely being offered a contract.

Currently, about 30 Aussie teens are on the books of overseas clubs, but very few of those make it.

Kewell and Emerton were both offered contracts by Leeds. Kewell signed while work-permit reasons prevented Emerton from staying - not that he would have accepted.

"I had no control over it because of passport reasons, but I couldn't have done it at that time because I wasn't ready," Emerton said.

"Our careers have taken different paths, but I wasn't disappointed that I wasn't there. I am happy with the way my career has gone and I've got no regrets."

Emerton said nothing else mattered for Kewell except becoming a pro.

"I have huge respect for Harry for doing that and it showed me how much he wanted to make it as a footballer," he said.

"From a very young age you could tell that's what Harry wanted to do.

"He always had talent and, when you combine it with that drive and ambition, then there's only going to be one result."

Kewell and Emerton trialled for a month before returning home to represent Australia at the FIFA Under-17 World Cup.

Kewell returned to Elland Road to start his distinguished career. Emerton continued his apprenticeship at home, eventually breaking into the NSL with Sydney Olympic.

So, was Kewell disappointed that Emerton, his teammate from age 10, did not return to England alongside him?

"No. We were close, but it didn't matter if he came back or not," Kewell said.

"I was never homesick. My parents came over for two weeks to help me settle in and, once they left, for me, it was just about focus, focus, focus, focus.

"It was all about playing football and I think that's something that young kids sometimes don't realise. They want the cars, the lifestyle, the appreciation, the money, but some aren't prepared to make the sacrifices."

Kewell and Emerton have done battle at club level - Liverpool signed Kewell the same year Blackburn Rovers nabbed Emerton from Dutch giants Feyenoord.

But while those matches drew big crowds and created a tense atmosphere, they have never played in a game on which the spotlight will focus almost exclusively on them, as it will on Saturday night.

"It's quite a coincidence that we both went over at the same time and have returned at the same time, and I think we've helped each other by coming home at the same time," Kewell said.

"We've both come back in good condition and ready to go out there and show what we can do."

Emerton says their clashes so far have been clean, but that could change.

"There was no trash talk, but maybe there will be some this time," he said.

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